Recycle and reuse those old clothes and toys

Children grow out of everything so fast. Whether it’s their clothes or toys, you are left with bags and boxes full of perfectly good items you can’t bring yourself to throw away. At Kindercycle we pride ourselves on finding ways to make sure good items don’t end up in a landfill.

Attend a Kindercycle event

At Kindercycle you can bring your old items, or just bring yourself if you just want to browse. Our volunteers will collect all the items and put them out into categories. You will find yourself in a goldmine of new items, you can recycle all your old items, and all for a small entrance fee. Anything that isn’t chosen at the event will be taken to local charities. We are urgently looking for child seats, like the maxi cosi tobi child seat. Even things like that last pack of diapers that you didn’t get through can be used by someone else.

Ask friends

We can be quick to assume that our friends don’t want our castaways, or that their children wouldn’t be interested in the same toys as our kids, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Ask friends if they want anything before throwing anything in the bin.

Bring it to a charity shop

Children’s items often come in brilliant condition because our children grow out of their clothes, and that toy they really wanted, so fast. Charity shops find items like these very easy to move so you can rest assured that your items will go to a good home and help a charity at the same time. With so many options out there of charities seeking donations you can do a little research on shops in your area and make sure you donate to a cause that is close to your own heart.

Make something new

Most of us get pretty sentimental when it comes to our children’s old clothes and toys. Their first pair of shoes, that babygrow you loved on them, the dress you had your baby girl in for a friend’s wedding, can all be too hard to part with. You can’t bare to dump them but putting them away out of sight doesn’t seem sensible either. If that’s the case turn them into a piece of art. There are plenty of things you could do, whether its make a quilt out of old babygrows or frame your memorable single items like shoes or dresses. This will give you plenty to talk about with your children as they grow. You can do the same with old toys too. A favourite teddy, a toy car or a particular lego set that they loved can all be put into box frames and hung in their rooms to make their space that bit more personal.

So don’t throw those old items away. Your box of throwaways might be someone else’s treasure chest or you can create them into something you can treasure forever yourself!